Intactivism: Week in Review March 10, 2012

by Tally on March 10, 2012

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Everyone's Gran:The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl - Botched Circumcision
The year was 1965. The boy's infant circumcision was botched. Actually, it was worse than botched. His penis was cut off during the circumcision. So, one doctor convinced the parents to raise the boy as a girl. Sadly, the boy was not a girl and he rebelled at a young age. Eventually, he committed suicide. What arrogance of man to act as god and attempt to redesign the human body of others.

Natural Parents Network:Top 10 Reasons to Leave Your Son Intact
A top ten list worthy of Letterman. The list is brief and succinct. The list includes everything from that most of the world is intact to "his body, his choice." A good list of reasons to not circumcise baby boys.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Moralogous:Hey, baby: just bite down on this stick
The majority of doctors performing male infant circumcisions in the United States do not use anesthesia. Can any adult imagine surgery on their sex organs without anesthesia? Babies feel pain, likely more than adults. Even a heel prick for blood hurts a baby, who will often cry out in pain. Now imagine having the most sensitive part of their bodies cut with no pain relief.

Joseph4GI:If You Can't Stand the Heat, STAY OFF THE NET
Posting stuff on the Internet makes it fair game. Many parents post about their son's circumcision and then get upset when people tell them facts about the harms of circumcision. Recently, a woman wrote about why she had her newborn son circumcised. After being criticized for writing that the circumcision decision was based on her preference for his future sex life, her husband posted in her defense on Facebook. Joseph4GI deconstructs the husband's defense.

Intact America Blog:Death by Circumcision—Religious Freedom or Criminally Negligent Homicide?
A critique of the involvement of religion in the recent death of an infant who was circumcised in accordance with the Jewish rite known as metzizah b’peh. This ancient rite involves the sucking of the blood from the circumcision wound. If the mohel has herpes, as was the case here, then the disease is easily transmitted to the baby boy.

Choose Intact:What Applying the Science Says About Circumcision
A critique of a series of recent blog posts where the blogger says she is applying "science" to the circumcision decision. Tony focuses on the lack in the series about ethics. He very thoroughly critiques her posts. Reading the series of posts, I think the blogger has no idea how to apply science to issues. She does not present the findings of the various studies. Rather, she, takes sound bites and fails to consider that the studies she cites did not provide conclusive, 100% positions that support her interpretations.

Beyond the Bris:Beyond the Bris on Beyond the Sling (Mayim Bialik's New Book)
Rebecca Wald reviews a book by a Jewish mother and actress. The book is about attachment parenting and discusses sound natural parenting principles. But . . . nowhere in the book does the author discuss circumcision. Male infant circumcision is the very antithesis of attachment parenting. Infant circumcision is traumatic to babies and oftentimes results in difficulties in breast feeding.

Monitor:Circumcision doesn’t reduce HIV spread
A report of the recent study that found that male circumcision is ineffective against HIV. The researchers reported that one study was stopped early after it was found that women had a 61% increased risk of HIV when having sex with circumcised men.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Soggy:Circumcision: Yes or No ...or Wait?
For those parents who are adamant that they must cut off part of the penis of their son, perhaps they could wait before performing the circumcision. The younger the baby, the more risky and traumatic the surgery is for him. There is no reason that a baby should be circumcised immediately after birth. Even a few days old, the circumcision surgery is traumatic. Why not wait?

Nyasa Times:Circumcision doesn’t reduce HIV spread, study reveals
A recent study shows that there is little scientific basis to support the circumcision campaign in Africa. Women are at risk of HIV infections when they have sex with circumcised men. The increased risk to women must be balanced against any benefit to men.

Gay News Network:Circumcision not cure-all for public health, ACON warns
A push-back to the recent promotion of male infant circumcision by pro-circumcisionists in Australia. ACON is an Australian health promotion organization with a central focus on HIV/AIDS. The organization refutes the circumcision propaganda and reiterates that circumcision is unnecessary for good health.

The Stir - Cafe Mom:One Type of Circumcision That Should Be Illegal
After a herpes infected mohel passed the disease to a baby when he sucked the blood during the baby's circumcision, the baby died. A blogger is aghast at the practice. She says, "As a parent, any ritual that could compromise my child's health while having the vibe of sexual abuse would be a no-no."

Saturday, March 10, 2012

New Zealand Herald:Surgeon: Circumcision risks too greatno circumcision:Surgeon: Circumcision risks too great
A reprint of a news report about a Australian pediatric surgeon who decries the recent calls supporting male infant circumcision. The pediatric surgeon says that circumcision has no health benefits when considered in context and compared to the risk of complications, such as bleeding and damage to the boy's penis. The doctor also questions the ethics of male infant circumcision, which is often a painful procedure for the baby boy.

Who is this guy?

Restoring Tally is just an ordinary guy who had to confront his prostate and circumcision problems. This site chronicles his journey in dealing with these issues. He has had prostate surgery and he is restoring his foreskin.